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Just as Forest managed to keep their near-neighbours at bay, the same also proved true at the opposite end of the pitch.

Out of the two teams, it was the Reds who were the most unfortunate not to have scored. They went desperately close.

You’d have bet money on Lewis Grabban putting his chance away just before half-time, while Joe Lolley was denied by a fine save from Scott Carson and then the width of the crossbar.

Aitor Karanka’s side have been pretty good when it comes to taking their chances this term – this is the first time they have drawn successive blanks, on the back of last week’s defeat to Preston North End.

It just shows the fine margins in the Championship. But they’ll be eager to ensure normal service is resumed against QPR on Saturday.

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No analysis of this game would be complete without singling out the midfield duo of Jack Colback and Claudio Yacob. Those two were in inspired form on Monday night.

Both have the ability to do the simple things well. They do the kind of work which can often go unnoticed but which is vital to gaining a foothold in games. Not that there was any danger of overlooking their contribution at Pride Park.

From the first minute to the last they were right on it, getting stuck into Derby, shielding the back four and giving their team a platform on which to build. At times they seemed to appear from nowhere to suddenly thwart a Rams attack. They never stopped working.

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Referee Keith Stroud incurred the wrath of Frank Lampard for his failure to award the hosts a penalty. However, it was probably honours even when it came to feeling aggrieved at the official’s decisions.

It did look like Tendayi Darikwa was somewhat fortunate to escape punishment for clattering into Tom Lawrence in the first half.

But if Derby felt they deserved a spot-kick, Forest could argue their opponents should have gone down to 10 men for Jayden Bogle seemingly leading with his arm in a challenge on Osborn.